Marsh teachers raise $64,000 to take students on tour of Texas colleges

The staff at Marsh Middle School wants to get seventh-and eighth-graders thinking about college early. With support from its corporate sponsor Fidelity Investments, two Teach for America teachers have organized a five-day field trip for students to visit 10 universities around Texas.

On June 4, 52 students and 31 parents will hit the road. But first, they’ll attend workshops on planning for college and the application process. Each of the participating students hopes to be the first in their family to graduate from college.

Teach for America instructors Courtney Isaak and Will Cullen raised $64,000 for the trip, starting with a $10,000 grant from Fidelity. Additional support came from local businesses and the Terry Family Foundation.

The trip includes tours at Baylor, Rice, Texas A&M, Texas Christian, Texas Woman’s, Trinity, University of Houston, University of North Texas, UT-Arlington and UT-Austin.